Gendered differences in advertisting

A growing number of consumers find it important that companies take a stand on social issues and begin to support those businesses more who align with their personal views. If corporations continue to ignore large percentages of the population, they cannot meet the needs of those consumers. There is an increasing need for the corporate world to educate and update their practices in communicating with minority groups, including racial minority groups and the LGBTQIA+ community. One of the best ways to accomplish this goal is through a new and more inclusive view on advertising. Advertising as a whole lacks knowledge about gender identities as portrayed in advertisements, specifically nonbinary or androgynous identities. The existing marketing research in this area mostly examines how actual companies have used gender stereotypes in their real ads. This study explores something very different-how gender differences in the model shown in an ad affects consumer preferences for that ad. Using survey methods to conduct this research, the study evaluates three antecedents to consumer ad preference by assessing characteristics and beliefs of individuals that have the potential to affect their feelings about gender in general. The results showed that overall ad preferences are very dependent on product type. Reasoning for significant gender matches or interaction effects are not easily assumed and this field will require further research to explain why these findings could have occurred.